Brizzle Get Verbal Backlash

Gary Johnson is hoping a major tongue-lashing will help Bristol City return to winning ways following their 1-0 defeat at Millwall.

The City boss did not pull any punches after the Robins blew a great chance to seal promotion from League One.

City can still win promotion to the Championship with victory in their final fixture at home to Rotherham United on Saturday. But now they lead third-placed Forest by just one point and Blackpool, in fourth, by only two.

Johnson said: ‘The lads have had their rollicking and I have upset a few of them. We will see how many come out with flying colours.

‘Me and Keith (Millen, assistant boss) have got a bit of work to do. We must get them to make more contributions in the game. Not enough of them contributed.

‘They were all disappointed and quiet and no one has got any right to come back with anything. We didn’t really deserve anything and it wouldn’t have been fair if we had won it on that performance.

‘We have got a chance at home to Rotherham to set the record straight. We were poor and I have let the lads know that.’

Stand-in skipper Jamie McCombe suffered his first defeat in 11 league games and added: ‘We have to stay positive because we have worked hard to give ourselves that second chance, now we have to take it,’

‘People say they (Millwall) had nothing to play for but they have got no pressure or stress. They tend to play a bit more freely.

‘Rotherham might play without a care in the world and do well but I’m sure if we play our game then we will come out victorious.’

McCombe was deputising for the injured Louis Carey, who was unable to overcome a calf problem. Johnson hopes he will be fit to face the Millers.

Blackpool boss Simon Grayson has piled the pressure on Bristol City and Nottingham Forest by declaring that his side are going all out to hunt them down.

‘There are no straightforward games on the last day of the season when you need points to go up,’ he said.

‘It is a time that really tests your bottle and your character. We’ve got nothing to lose because we’ve never been anywhere near going straight up – Forest and Bristol have.

‘I am sure those two teams will be feeling the pressure. You look at Scunthorpe going straight up as champions. Everybody expected the wheels to come off and for Forest and Bristol to catch them.

‘It doesn’t work like that. It was proved last year with Southend and Colchester going up and now Colchester have just missed out on the play-offs in the Championship.

‘So money doesn’t guarantee success. It certainly helps if you use it in the right way, but it does become that extra pressure on teams as well.

‘We will go to Swansea and give it a right good go and whatever happens, happens.

‘But at least we have given ourselves an opportunity of trying to achieve something on the last day of the season and there is certainly still a faint flicker of a chance that we might go up automatically.’

Oldham boss John Sheridan has welcomed the return to fitness of leading scorer Chris Porter, who bagged his 22nd goal of the season in the win at Brighton.

‘We’ve missed him,’ said Sheridan. He gives us height up front and scored a great header. Now hopefully he can stay fit and help us into the play-offs.’

Swansea still have a chance of pipping Oldham for the final play-off spot and Swans boss Roberto Martinez admits he will have one eye on what is happening at Oldham as his side entertain Blackpool. Martinez said, ‘If we play like we did at Carlisle, then I think our fans will be proud of us.’

Source: Nottingham Evening Post